Actuator for zippers and pouch embodying the same



Dec. 4, 1956 L. POST 2,772,712

ACTUATOR FOR ZIPPERS AND POUCH EMBODYING THE SAME Filed March 14, 1952 United States Patent '0 ACTUATOR FOR ZIPPERS AND POUCH EMBODYING THE SAME Louis Post, Bronx, N. Y., assiguor to Flexigrip, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 14, 1952, Serial No. 276,475

8 Claims. (Cl. 150-3) This invention relates to actuators for plastic separable fasteners and to articles embodying the same.

My invention concerns itself with improvements in separable fastening means of the type generally referred to in United States Patent No. 2,558,367. In a separable fastener such as shown in the foregoing patent, the fastener comprises a pair of flexible strips of resilient material, each strip having a plane portion and a reinforced edge portion, which may be termed a channel. Each of the reinforced edge portions, or channels, is of corresponding cross-section and each has parallel grooves and solid ridges, the ridges and grooves being arranged substantially at right angles to the planes of said plane portions and the head portion of each ridge being enlarged and the neck portion of each ridge being restricted to form an adjacent complementary groove with a restricted opening thereinto and an enlarged bottom portion, whereby when said channels are pressed together the corresponding heads and grooves are caused to interlock. Separation of the interengaged channels is effected by a pull acting substantially at right angles to the planes of said strips applied to one of the strips relative to the other.

Where fasteners of the type just described are made into containers of large dimensions, such as pillow slips, garment bags and the like, the relative slidability of the interlocking channels longitudinally thereof leads to displacement.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to prevent such relative longitudinal displacement of the reinforced edge portions, or channels, by uniting corresponding ends of said reinforced edge portions in their interengaged relationship, and, further, to provide an actuator which need not be moved along the length of the interlocking reinforced edges for release but which serves to release said interlocked reinforced edges, or channels, by a bodily pulling action applied to the actuator transversely of the reinforced edges, or channels, whereby quick release of the interengaging channels is secured by finger manipulation of the actuator and engagement of the channels is accomplished by manual pressure applied thereto progressively therealong.

It is a further important object of my invention to provide low cost pouches or receptacles of flexible material in which mating fasteners having interlocking channels serve as closures, and to provide therefor an actuator which operates at localized points to transversely release the interlocking channels, whereby heat-sealable foils or other sheet material may be employed to form containers, receptacles, pouches and the like with such interlocking channels as the closures therefor.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein or be hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view illustrating a pouch made in accordance with my invention;

See

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the separation of the fastener by manipulation of the actuator;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line IV-lV of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a receptacle, which is preferably made of foil or other thin sheet material, such as a flexible Vinylite or polyethylene sheeting, or sheeting of other heat-sealable material. A sheet of this material is formed with a fold at the edge 11, and heat sealed at the side edges 12 and 13 to position the edges 14 and 15 of the front and back walls, respectively, with the edge 15 spaced above the edge 14 to provide a gap therebetween. To the edges 14 and 15 are then heat sealed plastic closure strips, or stringers, 16 and 17, which are formed with plane portions 16a and 17a and with reinforced edge portions 16b and 17b, respectively. Said reinforced edges 16/) and 17b in accordance with the aforesaid United States patent, are provided with interlocking or interengaging continuously extending longitudinal grooves 20a and 21a and solid ridges 20b and 21b, respectively. Each of said ridges 20b and 21b has an enlarged head portion and a constricted neck portion, and each of said grooves 20a and 21a has a restricted opening and an enlarged bottom portion. With the closure strips in confronting relation as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, each groove in one of the reinforced edge portions is aligned with the corresponding ridge in the other of said reinforced edge portions, and the groove in one of the reinforced edge portions corresponds in cross-section to the corresponding ridge in the other of said reinforced edges, and vice versa, so that the same may be interlocked when pressed into closed relationship, as in Fig. 2.

The corresponding ends of the stringers 16 and 17, after interengagement of reinforced edges 16b and 17b, are heat sealed, as at 22 and 23, to each other and to the rear wall 24 of the pouch so that access to the pouch is through the slit provided by the interlocking channels 20a, 20b, 21a and 21b.

As an actuator for opening the closure so formed, there is provided a flexible strip 25, which is welded, as at 26, by conventional heat sealing methods to the inner face 27 of the lower stringer 16. The flexible strip 25 extends transversely of the interlocking channels to provide a freely projecting manipulatable portion 28 after extending through the slit formed by the interlocking channels.

In closing the interlocking channels, they are pressed to each other into engagement against some support or surface, with the rear wall 24 as a backing, until all points are progressively engaged except where the strip 25 extends between the channels. At this point, the strip'25 forming the actuator assumes the contour of the intergripping ridges defining the'channels to be engaged therebetween. A strip of Vinylite sheet material ranging in thickness from 0.002 inch up to 0.020 inch, desirably within the range of 0.008 inch to 0.012 inch, may be employed, since such a strip seems to provide a good balance between strength for the purpose intended and yieldability to being crirnped or displaced to the contour of the interlocking ridges defining the channels.

Sandwiching of the actuator between the interlocking channels and ridges does not interfere with the sealing closure afforded by the fastener strips. Disengagement of the fastener strips is effected by the actuator strip 25 by a bodily pulling action manually applied to the free end portion 28, as, for instance, in the manner indicated in dotted lines to represent the position of the fingers of the operator, in Figure 3. Such action provides enough of a gap to permit the finger of the user to be slid along the length of the interlocking edge channels, to complete the quick opening of the pouch.

By virtue of my invention, considerable economy is effected in that no slider need be employed to effect the opening and closing of the fastener. Consequently, no care need be exercised to thread the stringers and interlocking channels into a slider before completing the receptacle, garment or other device with which the fastener is assembled, thus avoiding the additional bulk as well as the cost of the usual slider type actuator.

Entire pre-assemblies of the stringers herein described may be utilized in receptacles, garments or other devices without the necessity of having first to pull apart the stringers to thread the slider, and heat welding and sealing may be effected at the terminal edges of the stringers without interference of the bulky actuator formerly employed;

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an assembly of separable fastening stringers comprising pairs of interlocking edge channels of the character herein described, the combination therewith of an actuator to form a localized gap in the engagement of said edges comprising a transversely extending element having a manually engageable end and an anchoring portion, with one portion of the channels in between said manual end and anchoring portion whereby the channels are disengaged from each other by a bodily pulling action transversely of the stringer applied to the manually engageable end element.

2. In an assembly of fastener stringers of plastic material comprising pairs of interlocking channels of the character described, the combination therewith of an actuator to form a localized gap in the engagement of said channels comprising a strip of flexible material deformable under pressure to interengage the channels to lie therebetween, one end of the strip being extended to form a manually engageable end element whereby the channels are disengaged from each other by a bodily pulling action transversely of the stringer.

3. In an assembly of separable fastener stringers comprising pairs of interlocking channels of the character herein described, the combination therewith of an actuator therefor comprising a strip of flexible sheeting deformable under pressure to engage the channels to lie sandwiched between said channels, the strip having one end anchored adjacent one stringer and the other end extending between said channels in opposed relation and forming a manually engageable end element for locally releasing the channels by a bodily pulling action transversely of the stringer applied to said end element.

4. In an assembly of separable fastener stringers of plastic material moulded to provide pairs of interlocking channels of the character described, the combination therewith of an actuator comprising a strip of flexible sheeting having one end heat sealed to one of the stringers, and the other end extending between the channels and protruding through a gap between the channels to provide a disengaging member when a bodily pulling action transversely of the stringer is applied to said protruding end.

5. In a receptacle comprising a pouch formed of plastic sheeting of the character described, having a gap to the edges of which there are heat sealed separable fastener stringers of plastic material, each of said stringers comprising pairs of interlocking channels of the character herein described, each stringer being attached to opposed edges of the gap, the combination therewith of an actuator to form a localized disengaging member comprising a transversely extending element to said channels, one end of which is anchored within the pouch, the other end extending between the channels and deformable substantially to the contour of the inter-locking channels, the

free end of said element serving to disengage the channels from each other by a bodily pulling action transversely of the stringer manually applied to the end element.

6. A sliderless fastener structure of the type that is closable by being manually pressed together longitudinally thereof, comprising flexible stringers of heat scalable plastic material having sheet-like portions and integral thickened edge portions, the sheet-like portions extending away from each other and lying generally in the same plane and the edge portions overlapping each other and having on confronting faces longitudinally extending grooves and ridges, each of said ridges having an enlarged' head portion and a constricted neck portion and each of said grooves having a restricted opening and an enlarged bottom portion, said grooves in one of said thickened edge portions being aligned with and corresponding in cross-section to the ridges in the other of said edge portions and vice versa whereby said edge portions may be interengaged by being pressed together progressively along the lengths thereof, corresponding ends of said edge portions being so interengaged and being integrally united to each other andto said sheet-like portions, and an actuator to form a localized gap in the engagement of said edge portions intermediate said ends, comprising an element. having a manually engageable portion extending outwardly beyond the edge of one stringer in spaced relation to the sheet-like portion of the other stringer and having a: connected portion anchored to said one stringer, whereby said engaged intermediate edge portions can be disengaged by pulling said manually engageable portion away from the sheet-like portion of said other stringer to exert a separating. force upon said one stringer away from said other stringer.

7. A sliderless fastener structure of the type that is closable by being manually pressed together longitudinally thereof, comprising flexible stringers of heat sealable plastic material having sheet-like portions and integral thickened. edge portions, the sheet-like portions extending away from each other and lying generally in the same plane and the edge portions overlapping each other and having on confronting faces longitudinally extending grooves and ridges, each of said ridges having an enlarged head portion and a constricted neck portion and each of said grooves having a restricted opening and an enlarged bottom portion,. said grooves in. one of said thickened edge portions being aligned with and corresponding in cross section to the ridges in the other of said edge portions and vice versa whereby said edge portions may be interengaged by being pressed together progressively along the lengths thereof, corresponding ends of said edge portions being so interengaged and being integrally united to each other and to said sheet-like portions, and an actuator to form a localized gap in the engagement of said edge portions intermediate said ends, comprising a thin, narrow, flexible strip having a manually engageable outwardly projecting end and an inner anchoring portion secured to the inside of one of said stringers, the intermediate portion of said strip extending between said stringers, whereby said ongaged intermediate edge portions can be disengaged by pulling said manually engageable end away from the sheet-like portion of said other stringer to exert a separating force upon said one stringer away from said other stringer.

8. A sliderless fastener structure of the type that is closable by being manually pressed together longitudinally thereof, comprising flexible stringers of heat sealabie plastic material having sheet-like portions and integral thickened edge portions, the sheet-like portions extending away from each other and lying generally in the same plane and the edge portions overlapping each other and having on confronting faces longitudinally extending grooves and ridges, each of said ridges having an enlarged head portion and a constricted neck portion and each of said grooves having a restricted opening and an enlarged bottom portion, said grooves in one of said thickened edge portions being aligned with and corresponding in cross-section to the ridges in the other of said edge portions and vice versa whereby said edge portions may be interengaged by being pressed together progressively along the lengths thereof, corresponding ends of said edge portions being so interengaged and being integrally united to each other and to said sheet-like portions, and an actuator to form a localized gap in the engagement of said edge portions intermediate said ends, comprising a thin, narrow, flexible strip having a manually engageable outwardly projecting end and an inner anchoring portion secured to the inside of one of said stringers, the intermediate portion of said strip extending between said stringers and being deformably clamped therebetween when said stringers are in closing engagement with each other, whereby said engaged intermediate edge portions can be disengaged by pulling said manually engageable end away from the sheet-like portion of said other stringer to exert a separating force upon said one stringer away from said other stringer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,942,246 Johaneson Jan. 2, 1934 2,325,305 Carlile' July 27, 1943 2,460,853 Siple Feb. 8, 1949 2,558,367 Madsen June 26, 1951 2,613,421 Madsen Oct. 14, 1952 

